I finished this and then went "WHOOOOOF" out loud with a big exhale of breath.

It's anthropology sci-fi!! Plus fairy tale!! Featuring writing that I want to put in a bowl and eat I liked it so much.

Anyway I can't even believe that she wrote this in the 50's (published in '70) because it feels like it could have come out a week ago and been equally timely. She wrote it before Star Trek! Plot summary: like Star Trek, but with a teen girl and more pondering of moral conundrums and colonization. Waowowowow!

Anyway I really liked it and u should read it!!

ETA: Look at this great update from the author on her website about the new edition recently released!! "This edition contains some minor wording changes, mainly to replace the generic use of masculine nouns and pronouns with gender-neutral language. That was the only thing in the book that was outdated, despite the 48 years that have passed since its first publication." Both inclusive AND A BOSS.

I got halfway through this before I gave up (I'm 53 now, life is too short to keep reading books one's not enjoying!)

It could have been titled "Ode to Mansplaining" as the all-knowing father goes on for pages, chapter after chapter, hectoring his daughter about stuff that she ought to know (to be fair, she doesn't seem to know the stuff she ought to know, but that's another issue!) The viewpoint is split for the most part between the characters who think they're in a fantasy, and the characters who know they're in a sci-fi novel, but you get nothing added from the other viewpoint--the SF characters know exactly what the fantasy characters are thinking, so reading their viewpoint is redundant.

Other nits: I'm sure a "higher" civilization (itself an outmoded concept) can come up with better ways to save a planet than this screwy plan, the main protagonist is apparently of marriageable/university age, but acts/thinks/feels about 10, nobody's actually interesting (apparently they find each other interesting, but for no clear reason), and an early death is dispensed with / accepted so casually as to put one off our supposed heroes right away (and was also stupid).

So mostly, I found it annoying, although I imagine it seemed radical in its day "Hey, kids, other people's cultures are valuable and you shouldn't colonize them!")

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s)

A classic and intriguing mix of fantasy and scifi, Enchantress from the Stars follows Elana, a young member of an advanced alien race, as she and her father attempt to save a medieval planet from colonization by a third civilization without either the colonized or the colonizers being the wiser.

To do this, she appears to a humble woodcutter's son, Georyn, as an elven Enchantress with magical powers, and helps him along his hero's journey so that he can defeat the "dragon" that's terrorizing the woods nearby. What follows is a mismash of genres that mostly works, but feels a little convoluted at times. I think the narrative suffers slightly from the third perspective (Jarel, a medic from the colonizing party), though I do enjoy the choice to tell this story in a letter to home. The tone is very reminiscent of the time period in which this was written, which made me slightly nostalgic even if the tale was new to me. Basically, it has a very different feel than modern YA, which I feel is for the best.

Really enjoyed this. A really Star-Treky concept (first contact but disguised as a fairy tale) but written pre-Star Trek (this was published in 1970?!), and just... so... deeply concerned with ethics in a way I find comforting 50 years down the line. I guess I also find it comforting to think that in these days of our ongoing national nightmare we may still, in the long haul, be ultimately progressing somewhere.

In my tradition of "this thing reminded me of this other thing", the ending conversation with Elana's father reminded me of one of the ending scenes in Call Me By Your Name (movie), with Elio and his father (you know which scene I mean). Same good thoughtful dad vibes.

Feel your feelings!

bye